“The Old North Dayton park expansion project aims to expand and reimagine an important gateway park into the Old North Dayton neighborhood,” said Katie Lunne, senior project manager with CityWide.
Dayton leaders recently approved spending about $654,000 to help turn a one-acre site at Valley and Troy streets into a new park.
The funding will cover the cost of constructing a flexible parking lot and community gathering space on the site, Lunne said.
Major elements of the project include putting in a turf lawn space and new sidewalks, trees, lighting and electrical hookups that could be used for food trucks, she said.
The city’s contract with Outdoor Enterprise LLC says the company also will install new asphalt and curbs.
Lunne said the vision for Point Park is ambitious and aspirational and would take place over multiple phases.
A future phase would seek to create a new access point to the Mad River. This would create a more convenient path to get paddle boats down to the waterway.
To date, no funding has been identified for this proposed work.
Lunne said two outdoor recreational businesses — Whitewater Warehouse and Dayton River Company (Surf Dayton) — are located very close to the park site.
She said they should benefit from the new park and their customers might be able to utilize the space.
“The expansion of this Old North Dayton park builds upon years of planning work and can offer a truly special place that can benefit the entire Dayton region,” Lunne said. “Dayton, Ohio, continues to be recognized as an outdoor recreational hub not only within the state of Ohio but has received many national accolades as well.”
The Dayton region has five rivers and more than 340 miles of paved trails.
Lunne said developing shared community spaces creates a more unique sense of place and high-quality amenities can help with business retention and growth and lead to additional housing investments.
Old North Dayton is home to more than 10,000 jobs and many residents.
Several years ago, the city reconfigured a Y intersection at Valley and Keowee streets into a T intersection to calm traffic and improve walkability and the pedestrian experience.
This new design helped connect multiple park spaces, including a war memorial and Joseph R. Kanak Park, which has 1913 flood memorials and seating and steps that lead down to the Mad River Recreational Trail.
The new city park would link up with these outdoor spaces.
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